


typical me breaking my typical rules

by DoctorFitzy (KittooningMalijah)



Series: fluff alphabet challenge [3]
Category: Overlord (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Jealousy, M/M, Multi, Open Relationships, kinda? he won't admit to it, no one in overlord is straight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-06-14
Packaged: 2020-05-07 18:23:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19214989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittooningMalijah/pseuds/DoctorFitzy
Summary: James Tibbet has heard plenty of things about French Chloe from his best friend's history class, plenty of really good things. So why does he hate her so much?





	typical me breaking my typical rules

**Author's Note:**

> Part of the fluff alphabet challenge on tumblr. Three fics in and I still can't write fluff oops.
> 
> C - coffee shop

James Tibbet stared across the counter at the lens that had been aimed at him for the last twenty minutes, letting out a sigh while he shook his head. He knew that was his fate, when it was slow, being a reluctant model for one of the few regular customers they had. It could have been worse, he supposed - the corporal's kid could be the one who was bored, and then he'd be a lot more bothered by something that definitely wasn't their friend group's wannabe photographer.

"Really, Mo'?"

There was the faint  _ click _ of the shutter closing again, capturing at least one more image of the tired cashier before the camera itself lowered. Finally. "What? You said you don't care as long as I'm quiet. I didn't even bring the rest of my gear."

"Yeah, because we're in a cafe and you don't need a camera here. Don't you have anything else you could be doing right now?"

Normally, he didn't care, but for some reason, the quiet, art fanatic of a human being had attached himself to  _ James _ , of everyone. That wasn't an issue, most days - Morton Chase did know enough about the things he was interested in, thanks to internet research, so conversation was never a problem - but when his six hour shift was less than half over with no customers in sight, he didn't want to spend that much more time with the nerd with the camera. He needed a  _ break _ .

"Well, Lewis went home to visit his mom for the weekend, and Ed and Jacob never want to hang out with anyone but each other anymore, and Sam is still at school for another few months. I really don't have anywhere else I could be."

With a groan, James put his head down on the counter and took a slow breath. His frustration was getting hard to control, he could recognize that and try to stop it, but if he had to hear that camera go off one more time-

_ Click. _

"Chase!"

Before he could get any further in his complaint, the bell above the door across the cafe rang out and exactly one figure stepped inside from the dreary English afternoon. She was more than enough of a distraction from his usual annoying sidekick, and he was quick to stand up straighter with a bright, charming smile. Until he heard the sound of aforementioned annoying sidekick’s voice. 

“Chloe! I didn’t know you’d be in town!”

By the time James looked over, his friend had already deposited the camera onto the counter and darted for the door to embrace the newcomer in an eager hug. The newcomer who, apparently, was named  _ Chloe.  _ And Chloe was very pretty. And she somehow knew Morton Chase. That just didn’t make any sense.

“You said you had a friend in the city, yes? And then I saw you through the window. Your camera.”

_ Oh _ . This was French Chloe. The French Chloe from the European history elective. The French Chloe that he’d gotten multiple phone calls about over the course of two semesters. The French Chloe that he’d gotten a panicked text about at three in the morning, because Mo’ hadn’t known what to do after his first kiss with a girl.  _ That _ Chloe.

Chase was eagerly pulling her toward the counter, his fingers interlaced with hers while he grinned brightly. As if there was absolutely nothing wrong with anything that was happening in that moment. “Chloe, this is James. James, this Chloe. I bet you feel like you already know each other.”

James gave a short nod of his head, his smile stiff but present when he rested some of his weight against the side of the counter. He would give an entire shift of wages and tips for another customer to walk in, in that moment. “Hopefully all the stupid childhood stories have been decent ones. Obviously, I’d prefer it if you’d only heard the good things about me.”

“I haven’t heard any good things.”

He was too stunned, at first, to even try to listen for a hint of sarcasm in her words, and he blinked to try to clear his head. Being a grump was part of his reputation, sure, but Morton knew he was joking most of the time - surely, there was at least  _ one  _ good story somewhere in his past. If there wasn’t... well, that was sobering. “I...”

“I’ve told you plenty of good things.” His friend cut in quickly, shaking his head with a smile just as wide as it had been since  _ Chloe _ walked through the door. “Like the mouse story?”

“Oh! He saved the mouse!”

At the assumption, James felt his shoulders slump, shaking his head. “No, I didn’t.”

“He was the one who climbed into the top bunk and cried."

" _ Chase _ !" He knew his face was bright red, that story always got that reaction out of him, but he thought he'd given his friends more than enough of a reason to  _ stop telling it. _

"What?" Morton, to his credit, did look genuinely confused. Like he hadn't just retold one of the most embarrassing moments from their childhood. "You were seven, and Jacob was hiding under the blankets, too. I like the mouse story."

Chloe had stepped closer to his side, and James bit his tongue to keep from outright frowning on his side of the counter. He was embarrassed, sure, but there was a different feeling bubbling up in the pit of his stomach. This was the other man's friend from school, sure, but  _ he _ had known Morton Chase since they were practically still in diapers. This was  _ his _ best friend she was getting so close to, and kissing behind the arts building, and visiting just because she saw his stupid camera through the stupid window.

"It is a very nice story, Chase."

He knew it was his frustration and that something else that made her accent so grating, but he still had to take a deep breath just to keep from kicking the counter, or doing something worse. He really should be focusing on managing his anger, but long shifts at work on top of keeping his best friend from getting harassed over his annoying photography habits took up every spare moment of his time. But still, when the thought of throwing said best friend's camera across the cafe crossed his mind, that was when he needed to nip his building emotions in the bud and deal with them later.

That was hard to do when he had to watch French Chloe put her hand on his friend's arm, and then they were looking at each other like he wasn't even there... Maybe it was a good thing she hadn't heard any good things about him. He'd hate to shatter whatever pleasant opinion she had of him with however his stupid gut was reacting to her presence.

* * *

At the end of the summer, James was working another long shift, and he was mysteriously alone. Most of their friends were still visiting home, but usually he at least had his personal cameraman nearby to distract him from the fact that the cafe was completely empty, like it almost always was. If they lived in London, maybe it would be busier because of tourists, but he'd been working for years and it was rare to see anyone besides their usual group of locals and the American families on the base.

So where was the one regular customer he could rely on?

Some iced monstrosity had been sitting on the back counter for the last hour, the thing he usually had set aside from Morton's perfectly timed entrance to the typically boring shifts, but the bell over the door had only rung twice. For actual customers, even. No photographers in sight. Odd. Unsettling, almost. If he was anyone else, he might actually start worrying, but he had a reputation to uphold. James Tibbet simply didn't care much for emotions, so he did his very best not to feel too many of them.

When the bell rang again, he was halfway through the process of dumping the long since melted iced coffee down the sink, and a very familiar, very  _ French _ giggle reached his ears. Right, because  _ Chloe _ had taken a summer internship closer to the base so she could visit more often. That would explain why he hadn't seen his camera happy shadow all afternoon. But it wouldn't explain why she was standing at his counter, alone, flashing her bright, perfect smile even after she must have known he'd seen it.

"James, there is a discussion we must have, a very important one."

He blinked in confusion at the words, nearly dropping the plastic cup in his hand into the sink along with its contents. In the near six months they'd known each other, he'd never had a one on one conversation with Chloe, and a part of him didn't see why that needed to change. Another part of him whispered that he really should try to get along with her, for his friend's sake. He wasn't exactly being a model best friend if he hated the girlfriend, even if he did have a bad feeling about the entire relationship.

"I... okay, yeah. Discuss."

She was still smiling widely, which might have been a little more disquieting if he wasn't so confused as to why she was there in the first place, though her next words definitely didn't help that cause at all. "You do not like me." Maybe he'd been a little bit obvious about how he felt, but he didn't realize he was going to have to talk about it. "But, I think I can fix that."

James blinked again, too stunned to speak at all for a long moment. Was everyone in France like this? Cheery and just a little bit oblivious? Maybe that was just another Chloe thing - he'd learned to recognize Chloe things. "Okay?"

With a nod, Chloe stepped closer to the counter and pointed toward one of the pastries in the case, her smile still wide. If this was the topic of discussion, there really wasn't any reason for her to be so damn  _ happy. _ "Two of those, please. And you should come to my home tomorrow night. Chase says you do not work?" Unable to respond with words or even move to get the pastries, just yet, he gave a slow nod of his head in confirmation. "Perfect. He will give you the address so you can be there at seven."

He shook himself quickly, not even realizing she had put money on the counter until after he'd bagged up her treats and watched her walk right back out the door.

* * *

As it turned out, he didn't need to get the address, because they took Morton's car into the city. Apparently,  _ all three of them _ were having dinner together, he just hadn't been gifted with the finer details because he wasn't a direct part of the planning process. That wasn't terrifying at all.

"Why am I being invited to your girlfriend's apartment for dinner, again?"

"Because I wanted to invite you, and she agreed with the invitation."

"That's not an answer, Mo'."

"Deal with it, Jimmy."

The use of the nickname he rarely heard anymore only made James frown, turning his head to stare out the window instead of asking any more questions. It wouldn't get him anywhere. Morton only used the nickname when he meant business, he'd learned that very quickly in their teenage years, and there was no getting him to budge when he'd made up his mind on something. And he'd made up his mind that he wasn't going to give any straight answers.

When they finally parked, James hurried to get out of the car. For the first time ever, he actually  _ wanted _ to spend some time with French Chloe - if only because he might finally get some answers, not because he actively enjoyed her presence. He definitely didn't  _ like _ having her around all summer long, not that anyone was arguing with him, but this was a rare moment when talking to her might actually be better than talking to his best friend.

She was waiting when he got up the steps, her wide smile that he remembered from the cafe just as bright and cheerful as ever. Not for the first time since she'd extended the invitation, he was wondering if he was being welcomed into a cult, or being sacrificed for a cult ritual, or just plain kidnapped. He didn't know what Chloe and Morton did in their free time together and he stopped wanting to rather quickly after they announced their relationship to the rest of their friend group. Through text. Group text. It was an underwhelming experience, in his opinion.

"James! You made it!"

He did make himself smile, even if the expression was far smaller than hers. If he was just being invited over for a pleasant meal, he didn't want to start any more issues than he already had. His vague sense of dislike had already been noticed, after all. "I mean, Mo' kind of made sure I did. I didn't have a whole lot of choice in the experience.”

Just from the look in her eyes, he knew that his attempt at a joke hadn’t gone over the way he’d hoped, but that didn’t seem to be a  _ problem.  _ This entire thing was so weird. 

“Come in. Sit. I made tea.” He tried to interrupt at the words, shaking his head and very quickly getting cut off. “I know you do not drink tea. That is why I made coffee, too.”

James blinked, still plainly confused and uncertain while he stepped inside and made his way over to the couch. It was a decent sized place - there was a kitchen, and a small dining area, and he could see doors leading to what he assumed to the bedroom and bathroom down a short hallway. It was certainly nicer than what he and Morton had been able to afford when they stayed in the States for a summer.

Before he could fully process everything, the cushion next to him sank with the weight of another human being and his best friend’s shoulder was pressed close to his. It was soothing, in a way he couldn’t fully articulate even to himself. He had someone for moral support in the weirdest situation he’d ever been in.

And then, it got weirder.

Chloe sat on his other side, effectively sandwiching him between them while he tried to understand why there wasn’t any tea or coffee in front of them. She had just been talking about drinks, and definitely implied that they were ready to go, but they hadn’t been brought out, and a wave of anxiety hit him full force. This was the important discussion they needed to have, then. Okay.

“James, I know you do not like me, but I said I could fix that.” For once, her accent wasn’t quite and frustrating as usual, though he could probably blame that on the fact that he was just so  _ used _ to having her around. He’d gotten used to that Chloe thing, too. “Kiss me.”

“Excuse me?”

He was too stunned to say much else, looking between them with a frown. Maybe it would feel like less of a prank if Morton wasn’t sitting right there, just as close to his side as she was, but even that chance in scenario wouldn’t explain  _ any  _ of what was going on right now. He’d still have far too many questions to be answered in any reasonable amount of time.

A sigh from his side made him look quickly back at his friend again, hoping for some  _ context,  _ at least. “We talked about easing into it. I also said we should talk about it after dinner.” He watched while the aspiring photographer shook his head, seeming to hesitate before making eye contact. “When I said I invited you and Chloe agreed... it didn’t just mean tonight, and it didn’t just mean dinner.”

More confused than ever, James sat up straighter - or at least as much as he could when the cushion under him seemed to sink while everything started to click together. “It didn’t just...?”

“For sex,” Chloe supplied helpfully, her bright smile still plainly in place while she leaned closer to him. “I suggested an... experiment. Chase suggested you.”

“For sex,” Morton confirmed, quieter, his nodding slow and careful. “But we were going to ease into it. After dinner. Or at least after tea.”

“And I thought waiting would be stupid.”

“Chloe, we also discussed not using the word  _ stupid _ to describe my plan.”

“No, Mo’, it was pretty stupid.” James took a temporary lull in conversation as his chance to jump in again. “You wanted to wait and discuss it? Stupid. Talking at all? Stupid. You know me better than that - I’m way too easy for discussions to be necessary.”

* * *

He was still wide awake hours later, able to catch his breath while he stared up at the ceiling. Both of the bodies on either side of him were sound asleep, and that made sense after the  _ activities _ they’d taken part in, but his body was still buzzing, in the best way possible. 

Maybe French Chloe wasn’t so bad after all.


End file.
